This invention relates to an apparatus for the delivery of a liquid medium containing chlorine dioxide. More particularly, the invention relates to an apparatus for the delivery of a liquid medium containing chlorine dioxide derived by rapidly activating a liquid medium containing chlorine dioxide precursor with a metal component.
The use of chlorine dioxide dissolved in an aqueous liquid medium to disinfect substrates, such as contact lenses, has previously been suggested. One problem with such disinfection methods is that chlorine dioxide has relatively limited stability so that chlorine dioxide prepared well in advance of its use becomes ineffective as a disinfectant.
One approach to overcoming this problem is to use a liquid medium containing a chlorine dioxide precursor, such as stabilized chlorine dioxide. This liquid medium is subjected to the action of a transition metal component present in the same container with the contact lens to be disinfected. The transition metal component activates or promotes the chlorine dioxide precursor to generate chlorine dioxide which disinfects the contact lens. One difficulty that exists with this approach is that one or more contaminants, for example, tear proteins, associated with a contact lens to be disinfected may cause the transition metal component to become ineffective over time to promote the generation of chlorine dioxide.
Therefore, it would be advantageous to generate chlorine dioxide from a chlorine dioxide precursor without exposing the metal component to an environment containing the substrate, for example, the contact lens, to be disinfected.